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Syrian Refugee Simulation

A Humanities Project.

Introduction

This project is about what happens to a refugee from Syria in it is a journey to becoming one. It is about all the bad and good things that happen to most of refugees coming from Syria, because of unsafe reasons. We tried to make this project as precise as possible to what happens to a Syrian refugee, so people would know what happens and experience the harsh reality they experience every day in their journey to a better life. We did this simulation in order to spread the word about the refugee crisis. We were hoping to share with people the experience of a refugee, and how it feels to be one.

Deciding to make a simulation

When we first started to read and learn about refugees, we didn't know how we were going to show our work, or help out in this crisis. We were given three options, a play, a exhibition, or to work with the IRC, which is an organization that helps refugees settle in to wherever they go to. We had many socratic seminars, and handouts to decide what our product of our work was going to be. Some people wanted to work with the IRC, but we ended up not being able to work with them, because it was going to be too difficult. We all finally decided to do a exhibition, and then we decided to be a simulation, because we though it was going to be a nice idea to let people experience the journey of a refugee.

Character Sheets

Everyone in my class got together with a partner and was assigned a article about a refugee that had gone through a specific journey. We all had to make a character sheet about each article and answer everything that the character sheet requires. Each person that came through the simulation received one of the character sheets and act as if they were that person, and whatever it said there was their background in order to make the simulation even more realistic for everyone that came.

This is the map in which the partners put the pin points

Event Sequence

The event sequence was kind of our plan for each person who went through the simulation. We got all the stations from the articles we read for the character sheets. What we did is that each partner had to get a string and two push pins to show their journey in a map. Then we made a station for most of ]the places that were asked on the map. In the event sequence every option have, and where you go after that option.

My Favorite Hand Out

This is one of my favorite handouts that i did this whole project because I feel that it really exposed me to the problem going on in Syria and the decisions families have to make in order to survive. In this hand out we had to answer questions about an article that we read about the lives of three women before and after the ISIS happened. I think this article and hand out made me realize that it is really hard to be a woman there and specially in situations like that that are dangerous and awful.

Models

We had to go through a lot of models in order to have examples for our simulation and to give us ideas. Even though there wasn't any refugee simulations, we did fin a lot of video games and other documents, for example the UNHCR "Passages" Game. When my group saw this packet, we thought it was going too be too much work, but then when we really started working with it and reading some parts of it, we found it really helpful. We found out a lot of interesting things we could incorporate to our simulation.

UNHCR Station design document

We made this document in order to write down all the research we had to do for our station. Each group member had to contribute to this research document so that the station will come out good. I contributed by researching and answering some questions and topics.

Station Design Document

In this document we wrote all the pathways for our station, where you can come from , what you do here, and where you can go. Everyone in my group wrote paragraphs for every scenario. I contributed to this by writing a paragraph in this document and by helping Melissa to make the station pathways. My character was named Alyssa and I was a CNN reporter and I was there to write a report about refugees and their experience.

Play Test One

I remember the first play test we had by a really unprepared play test, because my group really needed to do a lot more research to understand more about our station. Since we still didn't know how we were going to accept or deny refugees, to keep the play test simulation going, we just asked a number from one to ten and if they chose any of the two number that we wrote on a paper they got accepted. After my group decided to do more research and learn who is going to be who.

Play Test Two

For this play test we were a little more prepared, we knew what to ask people, and knew were to send them. This playlets was also obviously better because we had more props, and my group who was who by know. So we had two agents, a secretary, and a security guard.

Single Station Play Test

In this play test we had only one station do the simulation, so we would only experience one station and then give them feedback. I thought this was a good thing and a bad thing, because some people didn't get a station playlets, but also since we couldn't get the full experience, it didn't feel as realistic.

Play Test 3 (With 9th graders)

By this play test, my group had changed from UNHCR to the debrief room, because we realized that having people coming to a station in UNHCR is sort of unrealistic. So this was our first play test being in the debrief room, at first we didn't really know what to do, but then we got the hang of it, and I thought we did great with the amount of time that we had to prepare for it.

Play Test 4 : (with 10th graders)

I think this simulation was the hardest, because since our classmates already knew a lot about this problem, they didn't feel the simulation that realistic, but at the same time some people did feel like they were living through it themselves. By this time my group knew what to do, and we went through the play test smoothly, by interviewing people who came out of the play test and asking them if they had questions for us about their experience. Some people were very impressed by how our simulation came out, and when they told me this, I knew we were ready for our simulation.

Essay Quiz

What I feel that people should know about the refugee crisis is that this is a huge crisis happening in the world, and I feel that more people should be involved in order to be able to fix it. There are people out there who need our help because every day in their life is dangerous, they leave their house not knowing if they are coming back, and even though some people understand this, they will never truly feel the way people living in Syria or any place in war.

The Simulation

I feel that the simulation was really successful, not only because of all the good feedback we got at the debrief room, but also because everyone noticed all the hard work we put into this project. My group was really good at answering any questions they had about the simulation or the preparation we had in order to make the simulation. Even though we sometime we got our of character, we had to in order to answer some of their questions, my group received nice feedback. Almost everyone that passed through the simulation and went to the debrief room told me what a great simulation it was and how realistic it felt for them, they also told me that even though it felt real , they sort of knew that after that they knew they were going home, but other people don't know that, that this is their everyday life, and this is a reality for a lot of people.